


Guilty On The Run

by orphan_account



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Hiatus fic, Road Trips, Season 5B, spec fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13596204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Returning back to an Earth that wants them imprisoned for their crimes was not something that the team suspected. But when a betrayal happens, and they lose some of their own, they figure out that something much bigger, and much darker is at play... but just what is it?// Season 5B Spec Fic





	1. Chapter 1

His heart was pounding in his chest as he watched the Monolith begin to transform, the entire thing vibrating as it changed from a solid to a liquid. About to take them home, back to their Earth, back to their own time.

But Jemma wasn’t there.

She wasn’t with him.

The whole idea of losing her again, it wasn’t something that he ever wanted to consider. Losing her. Because he knew that if she didn’t make it here in time, then he would never be able to get to her again, that she would be trapped here, forever out of his reach.

But he didn’t need to think about that for much longer, as mere milliseconds before the white wave swallowed them whole, he felt a hand slide in his own. Tender. Gentle. Cold.

Jemma.

He turned his head, glancing at her for the briefest of seconds, watching as her lips curved up into a nervous smile, before the two of them were swallowed by the wave, along with the rest of the team.

It was only a fraction of the second before they were deposited back in the past, back in the time that they called home, all seven of them thrown violently on the floor. Jemma was lying next to him, breathing heavily and her eyes fluttering as she took him in. “Did we do it?” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, and she seemed slightly disorientated, and he wasn’t surprised. He felt awful, somewhat dizzy and wanting to throw up, but seeing here there, seeing her home and alive and safe, it made everything so much better.

He nodded, sitting up and fighting the dizziness that was threatening to overwhelm him, rubbing at his face before helping her to sit up, holding her as she swayed slightly. “You okay?” he asked, reaching up and brushing at her face gently and she swallowed hard before looking up and meeting his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I am.” Then she frowned, looking around at her. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, already now on his feet, extending a hand down to her which she accepted with thanks, climbing to her feet too. “Some sort of secret base?”

“It looks like where Enoch first took us,” May interrupted, looking around, her eyes soon narrowing on the door that was in the far corner. And Jemma had to agree with her, it did look familiar, and in the middle of the room was the remains of the Monolith, large white fragments in a haphazard pile and she let out a small breath, one of relief because the Monolith was gone, and they wouldn’t have to worry about it. Not again.

“So we’re back to where we started then?” Mack asked, sitting up and rubbing at his head, his injuries from his fight with Kasius evident.

“It seems like it,” Coulson sighed, standing back from a still unconscious Daisy. Jemma went to move towards her, to check her over for injuries but Coulson shook his head. “She’s okay, she’s just unconscious. She will be for the next few hours, but we need to work out where to go next, what to do.”

“We need to go to the Lighthouse,” Fitz explained, and then began to tell them all that had happened while he had been trapped on Earth for those six months, of how he had spent so many months arrested and then headed to the Lighthouse, getting things set up to help them. “We can work from there, no one else except Enoch and me knew about it, if things are still okay, then Polly and Robin should still be there, Hunter and Bobbi too.”

“They’re there?” Jemma asked him, spinning a little too fast as she spun to face him. “We can see them again?”

A sigh escaped from Fitz as he shrugged. “I don’t know, but if we’re not to far in the future from when we left, then he should be. But we’re not going to be able to travel there now, it’s hours away if we’re not far from the diner.”

“So, what do we do now?” Elena asked, her gaze flicking nervously around the room as if she were expecting someone to ambush them.

Fitz shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck, and shrugging. “I don’t know.”

But he didn’t need to, for Coulson spoke. “We find a motel stay there for a few days, lay low until we work out what to do.”

***

Her head was on his shoulder as she slept, her breathing gently as her chest rose then fell softly. She looked exhausted and his mind wandered, thinking back to where he found her, a slave under Kasius’ control. She had been there for a number of days, that he knew from what the team had told him about being stuck in the Lighthouse for nearly a week before seeing her again, but Jemma hadn’t told him much about it, her brain probably still processing all that had happened to her. What he was thinking of, was had she slept? Jemma was never this a heavy a sleeper, even less so after all the traumas she had faced over the years, and here she was, in such a deep sleep that he didn’t think she would wake for anything, not until she had had a decent sleep.

Had she been able to sleep while she had been there, or had she been awake, stuck in a vicious never-ending cycle of servitude? He didn’t know what was worse, but one thing he did know was being back here, what would have only been a couple of days after he entered cryo-sleep, was one of the best things ever. It was better than the hell the Lighthouse had been, the dystopian nightmare that humanity had been forced to face.

A frustrated sigh escaped him as he tried to adjust himself in the seat, they had been driving for hours now, and darkness was slowly descending outside.

It had taken them nearly an hour to escape the base they had been transported back to, and Coulson had had to carry Daisy out, the Inhuman still unconscious. It had only been then that they had found out that he had Iced her, so that she would come home rather than stay in the future. Elena had helped Mack out, fussing over his injuries, the pain now creeping up on him with the adrenaline wearing off. May had taken lead, and Fitz had remained at the back with Jemma, never once leaving her side, not after their latest close call.

In the end, they hadn’t needed to take care, checking each room and working their way slowly though the base, making sure that there was no one else in there for it had been empty, the seven of them seemingly the only ones in the base. They had only had to walk ten minutes before the found the van that they were now in, the thing sitting at the edge of a small farmhouse, and May had slipped in, stealing the keys, and now here they were, hours later, still driving.

But thankfully, they pulled into a carpark only half an hour later, and while May went to get them checked in, the others piled out, Coulson lifting Daisy and Fitz Jemma. Both woman were still asleep but Jemma was starting to stir, having been moved. Fitz had tried to be gentle, but he hadn’t been gentle enough it seemed.

Still, he smiled down at her, rubbing his hand across the back of her hand that had moved to his. “Where are we?” Her voice was heavy with sleep, and she was fighting to stay awake, her eyelids threatening to fall shut again.

“The motel,” he told her. “It’s okay, you can sleep.”

But he wasn’t sure if she had heard him as her eyes were once again closed.


	2. Chapter 2

She awoke wrapped in his arms, his embrace comforting and warm and she wanted nothing more than to stay there for the rest of time. She moved her head, tilting it up and looking him in the face. He was awake already, lips curved up as he smiled down at her.

“You okay?” he greeted her, and she nodded, before allowing her lips to meet his, the two of them taking the time to share a tender intimate moment.

“We’re home,” she breathed, still unable to believe that they were home, that they had made it here, that they had travelled in time had survived.

“We’re safe,” he told her, trying to pull her in closer, even though it wasn’t possible. He just wanted her there, as close to him as he could get her, and never want to let go. He had almost lost her so many times, he had known what a life was like without her, and that was something that he never wanted to experience again.

“We are,” she confirmed, closing her eyes, allowing her forehead to sink down, rest on his chest and she felt it then, the _thud thud thud_ of his heart. It was soothing, it was reassuring, it was home. She didn’t know how long she lay there, simply enjoying his presences when he spoke, his voice low.

“Jems… I need to… I need to shower.” There was a sadness to his tone, as if he didn’t want to let her go, as if he wanted to hold her for the rest of time. As if he wanted to remain there with her until the world ended, and then for some time after that.

She allowed her eyes to flutter open, meeting his once again, deep pools of blue that she always found herself losing herself in and she nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll be right back,” he told her, a kiss on her forehead, then he was climbing out of bed, and she watched him as he padded across the room, heading into what she guessed was the en-suite, then she was alone in the room.

She rolled over onto her back, sighing and stretching, allowing herself to come fully into the world of the waking. Her mind began to wander, thinking about all the things that had just happened, and all that could happen when a door opened. But it wasn’t the bathroom door this time. It was the main doorway and Daisy was sliding into the room. “You’re awake,” the Inhuman greeted, finishing of the slice of toast that she had in her hand, and coming to sit on the end of her bed. Jemma nodded, sitting up, covering herself with the sheets as she did so, her arms resting in her lap.

“We made it home.”

A pause before Daisy nodded. “I guess we did.” There was a fake happiness to her tone, a concealed nervousness as if she would rather be somewhere else at this point in time, _somewhen_ else.

“You’re not happy?” Jemma ventured, scared, not sure if she wanted the answer.

Daisy shook her head. “I should have stayed there in the future. Away from here, all the destruction that I cause…”

“It wasn’t you,” Jemma tried to reassure, knowing that it was going to be useless but trying nevertheless.

“How do you know?” Daisy asked, her voice tense. “The… they had footage. They showed me that I was where the Earth ripped itself apart…”

“Footage can be faked, we all know that Daisy, you especially.” Jemma reached over, taking her friend’s hand in one of her own. Daisy’s attention dropped down to it, then back to Jemma as she continued to speak. “And if it was you, and trust me, we all know that its not, then we can work out what to do, how to stop it.”

“Yeah…”

Jemma chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. She wanted to argue her point, to tell Daisy that it wasn’t her fault, but she knew how stubborn Daisy was, that she wouldn’t listen, so she changed the topic instead. “Where’s the rest of the team?”

“Mack and Elena are in the next room, Coulson and May in the room next to that. I had to share with you two… I hope you…”

“Not at all.” Jemma shook her head, smiling at her friend. “It’s been a long time since it was just the three of us, in a situation when the world isn’t ending, and we weren’t going to die...”

A pause, silence flitting between the two women before Daisy nodded. “You’re right, because it was the Kree, the Framework, the LMDs…”

They were then interrupted once more, the door to the bathroom opening and a Fitz reappearing once again, drying his hands on a towel. If he found it odd that Daisy was in their room, he didn’t say. “You two okay?”

Daisy nodded, pushing herself from the bed. “Coulson wants us in his room in about ten minutes, room 084. I’m gonna head on down, I’ll tell him you’ll be there in a moment, give you two some alone time… to get ready.”

And with that, they were alone.

***

They didn’t make it to Coulson’s room for another fifteen minutes, Jemma taking longer in the shower than she had planned, and the ends of her hair were still damp as she curled up on the sofa against the wall, Fitz’s arm wrapping around her waist. She sank into it, savouring the contact, she didn’t want to lose him again either, not after all they had suffered.

But all they had suffered, they had survived. Together.

And now they were engaged…

Engaged.

She still found the concept hard to process that her and Fitz were engaged, that the two of them were to get married. Not that she wanted anything else in her life. Being with Fitz, spending the rest of her life with him, there was nothing that she wanted more.

“So, we go to the Lighthouse, and work for there?” Coulson asked, a mumbling of general consensus from around the room and Jemma realised that she had missed what the team had been talking about, that she had missed their plan, something that was unusual. She always was listening in, asking questions about whatever mission it was that they had next, and it anyone found that it was odd that she didn’t speak what was on her mind, they didn’t say. “And we’re all okay leaving tonight, spend today getting supplies then make a move and if we need to, book another motel?”

Another nod before Coulson asked his next question. “Any questions?”

No one spoke for a moment, everyone in agreement but then, a single voice broke through the room. Mack. “Yeah, I have one.” His attention turned to Fitz, and Jemma could feel him stiffen behind her. “‘ _That was the fiancée’_? What’s the supposed to mean?”

A silence descended on the room, all attention flitting to Fitz who shifted somewhat uncomfortable in his seat beside Jemma and finally, after what felt like decades, he spoke. “She’s my… we’re… she… I mean…”

Jemma couldn’t stand the tension in the room anymore, all the attention on them. It was only then that the two scientists realised that they hadn’t told the team their news yet, there had been so much going on that they hadn’t yet had a chance. It was understandable. “We’re engaged.”

There was a moment of slice once more before Daisy spoke again, her eyes widening as realisation dawned, as it finally sank in that her two closest friends were engaged. “Shut up!”

Jemma shook her head, glancing at Fitz who was nodding. “We are. I asked him after we… after we escaped from Kasius…”

“Technically I…” Fitz began but was cut off by Daisy who seemed to be ploughing ahead with everything, more than excited that her friend.

“Have you picked a venue? A dress? Can I be a flower girl? I better be a flower girl.”

“We haven’t had much time,” Jemma confessed, looking around the room, at everyone who was staring at her, and shrugged. “We didn’t have much time to talk about it once we reunited. We have been somewhat busy. And we’ve been stuck in space, we haven’t had much time to plan anything.” The ending of her explanation was almost apologetic.

“Why not now?” Daisy suggested. “We have the time, don’t we?”

No one spoke again, everyone seemingly in shock from all that had happened, all taking in what had just happened. May and Coulson seemed emotionless, but Jemma knew that they were happy, the two older agents never did tend to display a lot of emotion at times. Mack was giving a proud smirk, his attention focused on Fitz, a knowing glint in his eyes. The only person who was smiling nearly as much as Daisy was Elena. “It wouldn’t be legal,” Jemma whispered, her heart clenching as she said that words out loud. “I wanted it to be official. I know it’s stupid… but…”

“I’m ordained,” May said, the two words a blunt statement. All heads shot her way, Daisy’s eyes somehow widening at this. May lifted one shoulder. “I needed it for a mission in LA a number of years ago.”

Jemma turned to Fitz, hope slowly starting to course through her as she realised what could happen. “Do you?” she began, and he smiled down at her, his eyes lighting up.

“If you want to.” There was a twinkle in his eyes and that was all that was needed.

And moments later, Jemma and Fitz found themselves hand in hand in front of May, the team gathered around them. Daisy sat on one of the beds, cross legged and on her laptop, finishing of the wedding certificate, the documentation that would make it official.

A blush rushed across Jemma’s cheeks as May began to speak, Fitz standing in front of her looking equally as red. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed, it was just that this was a little different to how she had imagined it from happening. Not that she was complaining, she was here with Fitz, with her friends, and most of her family, and that’s all that mattered. And if she was being truthful, she didn’t hear any of the words that May was speaking, her attention focused heavily on Fitz.

And it was his voice when he spoke that brought her back to reality. “Jemma, I know… I know that this isn’t the wedding that you want, that you deserve, and I promise once we work all this out, whatever all this even is, I’ll give you the wedding that you deserve, but being here with you, to me that’s all that matters. Being here with you. I love you Jemma, and I don’t… I don’t think that I could ever find the words to describe how much I love you, but I promise that every day for the rest of my life that I will show, that I’ll always be here for you. I’m never going to leave you, not again Jemma. You’re the one that I love, the person that I…” His voice broke there, the first tear making its way down his face, and she reached up, wiping it away, “I love you Jemma, and calling you my wife, I can’t begin to say how much that means to me, but most importantly, you’re my best friend, and getting to spend the rest of my life with you, that’s all that matters to me.”

She smiled up at him, tears glistening in her own eyes. “Fitz, I know that this isn’t the wedding that we wanted, but I don’t care. Being here with you, that’s so much more important to me, and if you had told me all those years ago, when I was just sixteen that one day I would be marrying you, I would have laughed, I would never have believed it, not in a million years. But standing here today with you, it’s all I could have wanted and more Fitz, I love you so much, and I never want to spend another day without you. Because… we’ve survived so much Fitz, and I know that, whatever we face, whenever we face it, we’re going to survive it because we have each other.”

May nodded, once the vows had been said, before she spoke again. “Do you, Leopold James Fitz, take Jemma Anne Simmons as your wife.”

“I do.”

“Do you, Jemma Anne Simmons, take Leopold James Fitz as your husband?”

She nodded, taking a moment to compose herself so that she could speak. “I do.”

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

The two of them didn’t even wait for May to finish, before Fitz had his arms around her waist, holding her close as her arms snaked up, wrapping around his neck, and she tilted her head up, allowing her lips to dance across his.

***

Mack and Elena had swapped rooms with the two of them, allowing the newly married couple a room to themselves. They had tried to protest, saying that they didn’t mind, but no one was taking no for an answer.

So the two of the found themselves alone, curled up on the bed together, her head resting on his chest, his hand wrapped around her waist and a silence had formed around them, enveloping them.

“It’s weird,” Jemma said, after a while. “Isn’t it?”

“What’s weird?” he asked, his gaze following her as she pushed herself up, leaning on her arm.

“Being married. I mean…. I’m not complaining, but nothing feels different, does it?”

Fitz thought this over for a moment before nodding because what she was saying was true, nothing did feel different, at least not yet. “I meant it about the wedding, the one what you deserve.”

“Fitz,” Jemma told him, shaking her head. “You don’t have to. Being with you, that’s all that matters. That’s all that I want.”

“I _want_ to. We can have it in Perthshire. We can move there, settle down there.”

“Fitz,” Jemma repeated, her voice nothing more than a breath this time as she took in his words. His eyes, pools of blue that were so full of love that it made her heart ache sometimes. She didn’t know what she had done to ever deserve him, but she was forever thankful that the stars had aligned like they had, allowing her to meet him.

“If you want to. We can do this last mission, and then we can leave, just the two of us. I want, Jemma, I mean, I don’t think that I can do this, not anymore. Working with S.H.I.E.L.D., I can’t risk losing you not again, I’m too scared.”

“Then let’s do it,” she whispered, dipping her head down and kissing him, her Fitz, her best friend, her _husband_. “And maybe, we can finally get to the Seychelles?”

“For our honeymoon?”

“We never did get to go all those months ago now.”

“Then let’s do it, Dr. Dr. FitzSimmons.” There was a hint of teasing in his voice and Jemma didn’t have time to do much before Fitz adjusted, his lips meeting Jemma’s. She fell back onto her own back, and Fitz didn’t even think twice before coming to straddle her lap, his own lips still on hers. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip and she gave a low guttural moan. One of his hands slip up under her shirt, his fingers trailing slowly, teasingly up her skin.

“Fitz,” she moaned once his lips left hers for the briefest of the seconds and he smirked at her, and her eyes fluttered, half closed in a wanting. “Please.”

He nodded, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Of course,” before dropping down and kissing her neck this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one turned out slightly longer than I had planned, and I ended up crying halfway through it... But thank you for all your support on this one so far. I'm so glad that you enjoyed part one and I hope that you liked this part!


	3. Chapter 3

He watched as her chest rose and fell, soft breaths escaping from her barely parted lips as she slept and as she dreamt. He didn’t want to wake her up, she looked so peaceful, so at ease. This wasn’t something that he could ruin, something that he could disturb. He didn’t know how long ago it was that she had such undisturbed sleep and for so long, no horrors or pain waking her up, and that thought… it broke his heart. She had been through so much but she also survived so much.

She was so very strong, and he was so proud to be able to call her his wife.

It was ten minutes later that she woke up, her eyes fluttering as she came back to the world of the waking, and she rolled over, smiling up at him. “Hi,” she whispered, and he returned the smile, pressing a kiss onto her forehead.

“Morning, Dr. Dr. FitzSimmons,” he greeted, and she laughed, her hand coming to cup the back of his neck, drawing him down into a kiss. It didn’t take him long to return it, his teeth nipping at her lower lip. It was moments before they pulled apart, and they just lay there, content in each other’s embrace.

“I don’t… I just hope we get to the Lighthouse safely.”

“We will,” he told her, his voice reassuring and he gave her arm a squeeze, showing her that he was there for her, no matter what. “And we’re… we’re going to save the world.”

“I thought that you didn’t believe that we could save it?” Jemma asked, sitting up and leaning on her arm and staring at him. He mirrored her, reaching over and brushing at her hair.

He sighed, opening and closing his mouth a number of times as he tried to think of the words that he wanted to say, and when he finally found them, he was still unsure of them. “I know, and maybe, maybe we can’t change them but… I don’t want the world to end, not when there’s so much to come. A future with you. I want all that Jemma, a future and a life with you. I want a life in Perthshire, just the two of us, lazy mornings in bed and afternoon walks in the Autumn, I want a life, a family…”

“A family?” The question was a tiny interruption. The words from Fitz shocked her, they were something that she didn’t understand. Not fully. She knew that Fitz was still recovering from the Framework, they all were, and it would take time to come to accept the things that had happened and move on from them, put them in the past, and now here he was, saying that he wanted a family with her after his father… She shook that thought from her mind. Anytime in the past, before they had changed from friends to something more, he had always said he hadn’t wanted kids, that he was too scared that he would be so much like his father. “You want that?”

He nodded and sighed. “I can’t imagine… I want a family with you Jemma, more than anything else in life. I want kids with you, a dog, a whole life, the whole stereotype of a happy family. And I know, I know I’m not like my father, that I’ll _never_ be like my father because I couldn’t… I would never hurt anyone I love, not again and if it means I have to defy space-time to get all that, well… I’ve done it before, haven’t I?”

Jemma stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words because she wanted the same. She wanted everything and more with Fitz, but she had never asked, she had been too scared to ask, and now here he was, suggesting it. “Fitz,” she all but breathed. “A family with you… I would… I would love that.”

They remained silent for a number of moments, simply taking each other in when suddenly, an alarm pierced through the room, a number of incessant beeps. Jemma rolled over and grabbed her phone from the bedside table, turning it off. “Is it eight already?” Fitz asked, watching as she pushed back the duvet and slid out of bed.

“Unfortunately,” she replied, shaking her head and wanting nothing more than to lie in bed with him. A sigh and then she turned to face him. “I’m going to get a shower, if you’d like to join me?”

The end of her questions was teasing, a suggestive invite, and the twinkle in her eyes, the way her eyebrow raised, and the corners of her mouth slid into a sly smile did nothing to help him. He was already pushing his own way out of bed, taking her hand in his own as she walked past him.

“I would love that.”

***

Daisy really hoped that something like this wouldn’t happen, that they could get to the Lighthouse without being noticed or their faces being played on every new station and displayed on every website, but sadly, that wasn’t to be.

The only thing they could do was sit and stare in horror was a press announcement was give, the man introducing it stepping aside as a woman took to the stage, her name flashing across the bottom of the screen, _General Hale._

Fitz’s breath hitched as he saw her on screen. “I know her.”

“You do?” Jemma asked, turning to look at her husband, who’s eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the screen.

He nodded, looking around Coulson’s room at everyone who was there. “Yeah, yeah, she was the one who was in charge when I was locked up.”

“Did she say anything that she wanted? Why you were there?” The question from Coulson was somewhat collected but also desperate, wanting to know what was happening, and what part this woman played in everything.

“She wanted us, all of us. No idea why but she hated that I couldn’t say where you’d went because to me, you had just vanished, had just disappeared and there was no trace of you.”

“Then someone’s seen us, a camera caught us maybe,” Daisy mused out loud, all heads turning to her as she did so. “Why else would this be happening just after we arrived back?”

But no one had time to say anything else, to add anything else because Hale’s words on the screen caught their attention.

“It’s been made clear to me,” she began, looking around the room in which she was in, the occasional camera flash lighting up her face. “That Agent Philip Coulson, along with the rest of his team from S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Melinda May, Agent Alphonso Mackenzie, Agent Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons, and the two Inhumans often seen with them, Daisy ‘Quake’ Johnson and Elena ‘Yo-Yo’ Rodriguez were spotted two days ago, heading to the _Sleep Tight_ motel on the outskirts of Milwaukee. Nearly seven months ago, the actions of these agents, particularly those of Leopold Fitz, who worked alongside a Doctor Holden Radcliffe, lead to the death of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Mace, and nearly resulted in the death of General Glen Talbot.”

Jemma’s mind went numb and she saw red upon hearing the words uttered on the screen, she reached over and took Fitz’s hand in her own, squeezing tight, and he held on like it was a lifeline. She wasn’t even paying attention to the screen anymore, just looking over at Fitz, hoping that he was okay. His face had paled, all colour having drained from his skin.

This here, what was being said, it was the last thing that Fitz needed to hear, someone placing the blame on him in front potentially millions of people, when he was just starting to recover, when he was just starting to come to terms with what had happened. It was another couple of minutes before Jemma was able to draw her attention back to the screen, never once letting go of Fitz’s hand.

“If anyone has any information that could lead to their arrest, please come forward or call the helpline that’s available.” And with that, she left the stage, ignoring the flashing of cameras and the numerous reporters shouting questions after her.

There was a long pause in the room as the station concluded the article before turning its attention to a robbery that had taken place downtown earlier that day.

“Well,” Daisy said, drawing the word and looking around at everyone, various looks of anger and horror on their faces. “It looks like we’re on the run again.”

But no one replied, to shocked to comprehend what had happened to speak.

“Excuse me,” Fitz whispered, pushing himself up from the sofa, Jemma’s hand slipping from his as he stumbled to the door, in shock and needing to get out of there. His hand had just made contact with the door handle, about to twist it when he froze, everyone did as Jemma’s phone rang out, the thing buzzing and lighting up on in her pocket.

She slid it out, frowning at the screen as she did so, a number that she hadn’t seen in so long lighting up the phone. “It’s my dad.” The words were low, as if she were even unsure what was happening.

She was about to hit answer and bring the phone to her ear when Mack’s voice rang out. “Should we even answer it? After the press conference, it can’t be a coincidence. It could be a trap.”

Jemma, however, disagreed. “Fitz made my phone,” she shot a look at him, as if asking him to back her up. “It can’t be tracked.”

Fitz sighed from his position at the door and dropped his hand and headed back across the room, dropping down next to Jemma, who’s phone was still ringing at this point, the noise sounding desperate if that were even possible. “She’s right, it can’t… it can’t be traced.”

“Still,” Mack continued, trying to argue his point. “It’s still not safe.”

“I won’t give anything away,” Jemma cut back, arguing her own point. “I just… I’ve not talked to them in months. I need…”

“Let her,” Elena voiced, placing her hand on Mack’s arm, a gentle reassuring presence. “It can’t cause any harm, they’re her family…”

“We’ve all… we’ve all got family we’ve not talked to. It’s part of the job.”

But as the argument continued, Jemma answered her phone, bringing it to her ear and it was when she greeted her dad that all attention turned back to her, the silence in the room deafening. “Dad?”

“ _Jemma, you’re okay.”_ He breathed a sigh of relief from down the end of the line, but his tone, it was panicked, somewhat anxious. “ _Have you seen the news?”_

“I have,” she replied, trying to quench the panic that was now bubbling up in her. There was a sadness to her tone, a pleading as if all she wanted was to convince her parents of something. Or even beg them to make it better. “It’s not true, it’s not…”

“ _I know Jemma, I know. I just… I need to see you pumpkin, okay? I need to see you it’s been months and we don’t… me and your mum, we’re in the Brooklyn Penthouse, can you come. We need, we need to see you.”_

“I don’t…” Jemma tried, knowing that it might not be possible to get to get to Brooklyn, to see her parents but her dad’s tone was desperate now, pleading with her. A father who just wanted to see his daughter again.

“ _Promise me you’ll try Jemma, promise me._ ”

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapter count has gone down, but I've decided on a fewer longer chapters than more shorter chapters to get this fic done for 5b starting next week so expect frequent updates over the next couple of days!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shout out to stjarna for helping me with names and ideas!

She hung up the phone, setting it down beside her, the thing sliding out of her hand and bouncing on the sofa before silently thudding to the floor. “Jemma?” Elena asked, the Inhuman’s voice gentle, and laced with concern. “What did they want?”

“They want me to see them,” Jemma whispered, her voice soft. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest as the team looked at her, their gazes burrowing into her. “They want to see me.” It was at that moment the realisation of what had happened hit her, that she had caused her parents so much distress and worry that they were now phoning her to check that she was okay, to check that she was alive. She tried to push the guilt gnawing at her out of her mind, wanting to focus on something else instead.

“You can’t, you know that Jemma, you can’t see them, not yet. Not until we at least sorted this out.” Coulson’s voice, as much as it was trying to be reassuring, as much as it was trying to be calming, it was still commanding, ordering her not to go back to her parents. “And besides, it could be a trap, it’s not safe. Not when Hale is looking for us. We can't take this chance. It's too much of a risk.”

Going back to her parents, it was something that she wanted, after being away from them for so long now. She just wanted to see them, to see that they were okay, to show them that she was okay. And, deep down, honestly and truly, she missed them. She missed them with every ounce of her being. So she shook her head. “I have to.” Her voice didn’t even sound like her own as she spoke. “I have to seem them. They're my parents Coulson."

A weight beside her on the sofa as her husband once again joined her, and he reached over, taking her hand this time and she looked at him, pleading with him with her eyes to help her, to make Coulson understand that the wanted to see her parents once again, that she _needed_ to see her parents once again and thankfully, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes and he gave a quick brief nod, one that only she picked up. “Why… why can’t she? We can…”

“It’s too dangerous. It could be a trap, a way to get to you. You’re not going,” Coulson cut in once again before anyone else could say anything, before anyone else could protest. “That’s an order Agent Simmons,” he concluded, watching as Jemma opened her mouth once more.

She let out a long, frustrated sigh and slumped back, feeling Fitz let go out of her hand, his arm snaking around her waist, supportive and she leaned back into him, wanting nothing more than to curl up in his hold and cry.

***

“Jemma.” It took her a moment to come around, her eyes fluttering open and she found that Fitz wasn’t in the bed with her, that she wasn’t wrapped in his warm embrace. He was crouching in front of the bed, reaching over and cupping her cheek. “You awake?”

She frowned at him, somewhat bleary, and then she nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

He smiled at her. “Do you still want to see your parents?”

She sat up at the whispered question, eyes widening. “Are you…”

“Sure? Yeah, course I am Jemma, they’re your parents. It’ll only be a day or two, three at the most. Coulson shouldn’t be able to say whether or not you get to see your family. If you wanna go,” Fitz shook his head, helping Jemma climb out of bed, before making his way back across the room, throwing the last few supplies into a bag and grabbing a set of keys. The ones from Coulson. “Then we're gonna go.”

“Should we really be doing this?” Jemma asked, self-doubt suddenly taking over her, a nervous fluttering making itself known in her stomach. “Coulson, the team…”

“Jemma, forget the team for a moment, what Coulson said, forget all of that,” he asked, looking at her. “Do you want to see your family?”

She nodded. “I do.” And she did, more than anything else at this point in time. "I need to see them."

“Then let’s go,” he whispered, slinging his backpack on his shoulder and taking her hand in his own, their fingers interlacing. The motel was quite as they headed through it in the early hours of the morning, the receptionist only casting them a second glance as she looked up at them and thought nothing of it. To her, couples came and went at all hours of the day, so she simply returned back to her magazine as the door closed behind them.

The air was slightly cold as the headed across the car park, a slight breeze blowing around them as a _Rooms Available_ sign flashed high above them “I’ll drive first,” Fitz offered, pulling open the door to the passenger side, Jemma climbing in and buckling her seat belt as he made his way to the driver’s seat, the backpack now thrown in the seats behind them, and started the car.

The engine gave a low rumble, and before they knew it, they were pulling out onto the road, empty at such an early hour, only the occasional car passing them in the lane opposite.

“They don’t know we’re married yet,” Jemma mused out loud, the moonlight catching her skin, making her glow as she looked out at the night sky, an inky black dotted with stars. Fitz shot a glance at her, his eyes coming of the road of a fraction of a second to take her in. “I think we should tell them.”

He nodded. “And mum too. God knows how long they’ve been saying that we would end up together.”

“And they were right.” A soft laugh from Jemma. “And we never used to believe them, always saying that what we felt for each other, it was nothing, and here we are.” She looked over at him, her husband, before reaching over and taking his hand in her own. Her fingers interlacing with his, fitting perfectly there

He lifted it, bringing to his lips and allowing his lips to ghost her knuckles with a kiss before setting it back down between the two of them. His thumb came to rub at the back of her hand. “I need to get you a ring.”

“Fitz?”

He smiled at her, blue eyes wide and loving as he took her in, her complexion soft in the dim light. As much as he loved being there in the car with Jemma, he hated driving, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to focus as much attention on her as he wanted. “Rings. I wanted… I was making an engagement one for you, before… before everything, back at the Playground and I wasn’t… I wasn’t able to get it. I wanna make you a new one, new _ones_. Wedding and engagement.”

“Fitz…” she breathed, taking him in. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to Jemma. I want to make them, more than anything else. I just…”

“They would be beautiful, and you can. One day, we’ll … we’re…” She found it hard to say what she wanted to say, a yawn escaping her, and Fitz laughed.

“Sleep, we’ve plenty of time. And I did wake you up early.”

But Jemma never replied to his words, sleep already pulling her under, and not once did she let go of his hand.

***

It was a number of hours later that she awoke, curled up in the seat, the sun starting to come in through the windows, and she stretched as best as she could from her position, hoping to soothe her aching muscles and she found that Fitz was still driving, trying to stifle a yawn.

“I’ll drive,” she told him, reaching over and placing a hand on his arm. His attention dropped down to it and he looked as though he were about to protest. “Fitz, you’ve been driving for hours, you must be exhausted. How much further is it.”

His face scrunched up before answering, as if he were trying to quickly calculate it. “Five and a half hours.”

“I’ll do it,” she said again, not wanting him to over exert himself and a moment later, he nodded, flicking the indicator on and pulling over to a car park. “Thank you.”

He nodded, smiling at her, before leaning over and pressing a kiss to her lips, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, rough and calloused, but so soft and reassuring at the same time.

“I could get used to this,” he told her, once Jemma had pulled out onto the main road again, leaning back and gazing at his wife, unable to comprehend that they were married, that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. “Road trips with you.” He reached for another handful of pretzels, stuffing them in his mouth, before swallowing them. He was going to grab another handful but Jemma spoke again, and all thoughts of food where pushed from his mind.

“But in Perthshire?”

“Yeah.” A laugh. “In Perthshire.”

“What would it be like, our house, our family?”

“You wanna know?”

She nodded. “I do, Fitz. I would love to know.”

“It, our cottage, it would definitely have large gardens, with flowers everywhere, of all varieties. And it would have a table and chairs, somewhere we could sit in the summer and enjoy the weather, somewhere where we could have our breakfast, but it would also have prime star gazing views. There would be one spot where we would lay our blanket and watch as the comets fly overhead. The kids would love it, the garden. They'd love all that space to run around and they would have a climbing frame set, complete with ladders and slides and swings. The dog would love it too, the garden but they'd sleep in the house, at the end of our bed, but always end up curled up with us in the morning. She’d, or he’d, be adopted of course, from the local shelter because you wouldn’t have any other way.”

“And our kids?” Jemma tried to keep the longing out of her voice because she wanted nothing more than a family with Fitz, and now that it was so close, it was almost painful not having it right now. But she knew, one day, when all of this was worked out, when the Earth was saved, they would get that, a life and a future together. They would get their happy ending.

“Three of them. Two girls and a boy. They'd... they've be perfect. I don’t know names, not yet. Something we can decide on later, well, except the oldest girl. She’d be called Peggy.” He smiled softly at this, waiting to see what Jemma's reaction would be, and it didn't disappoint.

Jemma’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but shoot her husband a stare when he told her that. “I was drunk when I told you that. I didn’t even think that you would remember that…”

“Why wouldn’t I? You were pretty adamant that your first born be named after Peggy Carter, one of the women that you look up to most in life.”

“What about?” Jemma mused, an idea forming in her mind, one she knew Fitz would never object too. “Peggy Violet?”

“After mum?”

His wife nodded. “If she’s named after the most important woman to me, then she should also be named after the woman most important to you.”

“Peggy Violet.” He repeated her words, enjoying how they sounded. “That sounds… that sounds amazing. Our second could be…” he paused for a second, lost in this life he and his wife was imaging, thinking what it would be like if they were trying to actually name their child. “Skye, after her aunt.”

“Of course, there’s nothing else that we could call her. And our son, Iain. He'd be the youngest, the other two would always rope them into their schemes but we could never... I want this Fitz.”

“Yeah,” he whispered, smiling up at her. “Yeah I just…”

“I want it _now_.”

“I know, and we’re gonna get it. I promise you Jemma. One day, soon, we’re going to get all this and more.”

And so, they spent the rest of their journey to Brooklyn talking about the would-be and the could-be of their future.

***

They parked the car in the private underground car park just under five hours later, Jemma knowing a number of back roads and the traffic being light. “Are you ready?” she asked, still sitting in the driver’s seat, staring at the off-white wall in front of her. There was a hint of nervousness in her voice and then she felt Fitz’s hand cup her cheek, guiding her gaze to look at him.

“Jems, you know no matter what happens, it’s going to be okay, yeah? No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you.”

She nodded, allowing her eyes to flutter shut and enjoy the moment as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and once they exited the car, she took his hand, enjoying the comfort it brought as they made their way up to her parent’s apartment, knocking on the door when they finally reached it.

“Jemma!” her mum exclaimed upon answering the door, bringing her daughter into a hug. “Me and your father weren’t sure if you were going to come.”

“We were able to,” Jemma replied, entering the apartment, Fitz no far behind her, her mum closing the door behind. “Just in the main room?”

“Yeah,” Adelle said, a smile flickering across her face. “Are you okay, we’ve not seen you in months.”

A heavy sigh escaped from Jemma as she collapsed onto the sofa, Fitz taking the spot beside her. She shook her head, unsure of what to say or what to do next. “I’ve been… it’s been a long couple of months, a lot has happened.” She allowed her eyes to flutter closed for the briefest of seconds as all that had happened flashed before her eyes.

Adelle nodded, trying to show that she understood but knowing, deep down that she would never understand what her daughter had went through. She took the seat next to her husband on the sofa across from her daughter and Fitz. “It must have been, it’s been a long couple of months, not hearing that much from you. We just… we wanted to make sure that everything was okay, after the news. We worry about you, Jemma.”

“We’re working on it,” Jemma said quickly, the words escaping her before she even really knew what she was saying. All she wanted was for her parents was to understand, for them to know that what the media was saying, it wasn’t the truth. “And Fitz… it wasn’t his fault, none of it was.”

“We know,” Rupert reassured, gaze going from one scientist to another. “And we know you can’t tell us that much about what happened, we just wanted to make sure that everything was okay with you two.”

“It is,” Jemma repeated, hoping that it was working, hoping that she was convincing her parents that she was okay, that it was all okay. “I just… I don’t want to talk about it. I do… we’ve… we have some happier news.”

“You do?” Adelle’s eyes went wide, brows that were so similar to Jemma’s shooting up, wondering what they could be telling her. She knew that they were a couple, that they had finally got together after so long. It was something that she had known would happen since day one. She just hadn’t expected that it would take this long. And she now couldn’t help but wonder if they had taken the next stage in their relationship, if they had gotten engaged, but neither of them was wearing a ring, so she pushed that thought from her mind.

A nod from Jemma, who turned her attention to Fitz, lips curving up into an easy smile. “We got married.”

“Married?” her father asked, unable to keep the shock or the joy out of his voice. “When did that… when did that happen?”

“A couple of days ago,” Fitz offered, speaking for the first time in this conversation. “It was something informal, a signing of a few documents. But legally, yeah, we are married.”

“Rupert,” Adelle exclaimed suddenly, as if she were just remembering something. “We still have that bottle of wine, don’t we?”

Jemma never heard the rest of what her parents were saying because she felt Fitz’s breath against her ear, whispering a question that only she could hear. “Bet you wish it was gin, don’t you?”

She just rolled her eyes, and leaned back, allowing herself to relax into Fitz’s embrace. “But really,” her mum continued. “Congratulations.”

And with that, she was gone, pottering of into the kitchen, most likely to get the bottle of wine.

“She’s been saving that, you know? For whenever the two of you got married,” Rupert joked. Or at least, both Jemma and Fitz thought he joked. “Bought it the summer you two both came over and hasn’t opened it since.”

“Has it… did you really think that we would end up together?”

A nod from Rupert, his eyes soft, but his jaw tense. “Yeah, yeah, pumpkin, there was no one else, there is no one else like Fitz, you know that don’t you? And I’m happy, for the both of you. That you found each other, that you’re together, that you’re both happy.”

Jemma found herself teary-eyed at this, lost for words but it turned out she never had to say anything, her mum once again reappearing in the doorway, but not with a bottle of wine or glasses but with a look of true pain and regret on her face.

“I’m so sorry, Jemma.”

“Mum…” was all she could whisper before she saw them.

Hale and her team.

It had been a trap.

It had been a trap after all, just like the others had tried to warn her.

She should have listened to them, taken their advice, not came here and worked out something else with them instead.

But no, she had to come here, she had to see her parents. And now she had dragged Fitz back into the very mess he was trying to avoid in the first place.

Fitz himself was now standing up, also helping Jemma to her feet and stepping in front of her, hoping to offer her some protection so that she could run, get away and get help. “Please,” he begged an approaching Hale. “You don’t have to do this, at least let Jemma go. Please, she did nothing wrong.”

“I have my orders Agent Fitz,” Hale told him, continuing to advance and he knew that soon, he knew that it was no or never, they had to try and leave, there was nowhere in the room to run, only out the door they had entered, and with the sofa behind them and Hale in front of them, the gap quickly closing, he knew they had to move _soon_. “We need all of you. I can’t leave your wife behind sadly, and congratulations, I must say. On getting married.”

He took in a shaking breath, unsure of what to do or say, when a cry knocked him out of his thoughts. Jemma.

She was calling his name and he spun, momentarily distracted. She had been grabbed by two armed guards who had come in from the hallway door, their escape now well and truly blocked. “Please,” she begged, giving a loud cry of pain as one of the guards twisted her arm, and forced her out of the room. “Please. Fitz! Fitz! Fitz, please! Please don’t!”

Fitz watched as she was led away, listening to her cries as she was taken away. “Please,” he turned back to Hale, arms raised in surrender now, giving up the fight before it had ever really begun. “Please, don’t… don’t hurt her. Jemma! Jemma! Please don’t… please Jemma!” And then his own arms were forced behind his back, and the last thing that he saw before he was dragged away was the look of pain and regret laced across Jemma’s parents’ faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who asked for this not to be a trap, I'm sorry.


	5. Chapter 5

He hadn’t seen Jemma since they had taken them from her parent’s house, she had been taken in a separate van, and they hadn’t let him see her yet, despite how much he begged, despite how much he had shouted.

It had been days now, and he hadn’t heard anything. Nothing at all. He was terrified, his heart pounding in his chest non-stop and he couldn’t catch his breath, no matter how hard he tried. She was gone, taken somewhere by these people and he was powerless to do anything about it. His mind couldn’t help but jump to the worst conclusion; that they had done something to her, that they had hurt her, and nothing could be done about it.

It was on his fifth day when he was dragged from his room, no cell. Just a concrete block. But this one was different from the one that he last occupied, and he couldn’t help but wonder had they moved him to a different base instead, a new one where he hadn’t been before. Just in case someone tried to break him out again.

He didn’t even if Jemma was being kept here or if she had been taken elsewhere. He just… he hated being back in this position again, powerless. Knowing that he was trapped and unable to do anything. He had vowed the last time that he would never let himself end up in a position like this again.

The room that he was dragged too was another integration room, and once again, he was cuffed to the table in front of him and left alone, the minutes dragging by until Hale entered the room. “Fitz,” she greeted, her face emotionless but yet, full of hatred at the same time. “Our time together was cut short last time.”

“Where’s?” he began to ask through gritted teeth, fighting helplessly to get free, the metal of the handcuffs jangling as he jostled them. “Where’s Jemma.”

“Jemma’s fine,” Hale reassured. “In fact, she’s been transferred to one of our top medical facilities.”

His heart all but stopped at that, and the world seemed to slow down, a loud thumping noise drowning out everything else, even the own thoughts in his own head. Hale looked like she was saying something but to him, it was all just empty words. Then, all at one, as if his head had just broke the surface of a body of water, it all came rushing back to him and at once.

Jemma had been taken to a top military base, somewhere away from him. She must have been hurt, one of these bastards must have hurt her and he saw red, standing up, nearly knocking the chair out from under him. “Where is she? What have you done with her?”

“Agent Fitz,” Hale commanded, her voice cutting through the room. “Your wife is okay, trust me. Please sit.” It wasn’t an offer, it was a command. One that he knew that he couldn’t disobey.

Fitz reluctantly sat, dragging the chair forward, the sound of the metal scraping on concrete filling the room, the sound causing his skin to crawl, and he winced. It took several seconds but he was finally in a position that he could call somewhat comfortable. “What have you done with her? Please, please just tell me.” The fight was fading from him, and he just need to know what had happened with Jemma. He just need to know that she was okay.

“She’s pregnant Agent Fitz, you know that, don’t you? She’s pregnant.”

“She’s… she’s pregnant?”

Confusion must have flashed across his face as Hale’s lips flicked up, in a smile, but not one of happiness. It was vicious, ruthless and evil and it was almost victorious, showing that she had won.

“Yes, Agent Fitz, she is pregnant.”

***

“Where is he?” she asked, fighting against the restraints that held her to the bed, her right arm having very little movement available to it. “Where is he? Where’s Fitz? What have you done with him?”

The room that she was in was empty, there was no one there. But the room, it wasn’t a prison cell like she thought it would be, instead it was a hospital room, the walls washed white and light brightly, so bright that it was almost blinding. It was early on that she had decided that they must make up for the lack of natural light, there were no windows present in the room (and because of that, they had to be underground or hidden somewhere, and she didn’t like the idea of either of those two things).A heart rate monitor was attached to her too, a low dull and monotonous beeping filling the room but she was so very very alone.

She hadn’t seen Fitz, he had been taken somewhere else, he had to have been. No one here would tell her where he was, and it had been almost five days now. She just wanted to know that he was okay, that he wasn’t hurting. She just wanted him to be okay.

She didn’t know how long she was calling out to no one that morning when the door opened. Her head shot that way, watching a nurse came in, carrying a tray of food. “Please, Jemma, stop,” she asked, setting it down on a space beside her bed: a plate with two slices of toast, an orange and a bottle of water lying sideways. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I just… I need to know where he is. Please.” Her voice was breaking, and she was so close to crying once again. “Please.”

The nurse looked at her, and for the briefest moment, Jemma thought that she was going to say something, where Fitz was, what was happening, but she never, instead she just turned on her heal, and left the room, Jemma once again alone. She looked down at the tray, at the food and water that was there, and she knew, despite how much she didn’t want to, that she had to eat. Her stomach had been protesting the lack of food from the last few days. She had been refusing food over the last few days, not wanting anything they were offering her, but she knew now, that she had to eat, that she had to drink. It was too painful not to eat. So she reached forward, and took one of the slices of toast (dry, they hadn’t even offered her anything to spread on to it) and managed two bites before gagging, nearly throwing up. She had to grab for the water bottle, unscrewing it (only feeling vaguely relieved that the seal had not been broken) and drinking half of it in one go.

The nurse, the one who always brought her her food returned as she was finishing of what she could eat, setting the tray down on the table beside her. “Are you ready, Dr. Simmons?”

“Ready for what?” She was so confused, she had no idea what to expect, what was happening to her. And she knew, that really, she had no choice. They had already preformed so many tests, took so many samples.

Again, she had no answer, but the nurse, her name still unknown to Jemma detached her from the heart rate monitor then took control of Jemma’s bed and pushed it down the hall, and around a corner. To a lift and then up three floors, before one final corridor, and then, she knocked on a door on the left. A voice beckoned them in, and the bed was pushed in, parked in the middle of an empty room.

“Dr. Simmons,” the man in the room greeted, a false smile plastered on his face. “Welcome. It’s great to have you here. I’m Dr. Saunders, and I’ll be taking care of you today. And, really, it’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve always been fascinated by your work.”

She snorted, seeing the other woman leave the room, the door clicking shut behind her. “I wish I could say the same.”

“Your husband wasn’t wrong about your spirit,” the man, Dr. Saunders apparently, mused, getting up and beginning to set up some equipment, something that Jemma knew well.

An _ultrasound_ _machine_.

Jemma’s mind started racing with a hundred thousand questions. This man, he knew of Fitz. He must have spoken to Fitz, he must have somehow got into communication with him. Did he know where Fitz was? Did he know if Fitz was okay? If he was safe? If he was unharmed.

And that wasn’t even beginning to mention all the questions that came with the ultrasound machine.

“You know Fitz?” Jemma asked, fighting against the restraints once more, trying but failing to break free. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

“Easy, Dr. Simmons,” Dr. Saunders warned, placing a calming hand on her arm, and pushing her gently back down on to the bed. “You don’t want to hurt the baby, do you?”

“The… the baby?” The question escaped her as nothing more than a whisper. “I’m…”

“No one’s told you?” He seemed surprised, his fuzzy grey eyebrows shooting up. “You’re pregnant.”

She shook her head, unable to believe this. She couldn’t be pregnant, not here, not now. “No, no I can’t be…” But she trailed off, pushing all the horrors out of her mind, and thinking about all the things that had seemed so simple and normal at the time, that were in fact, the first indicators of pregnancy.

Nausea.

Frequent bathroom trips.

Fatigue.

Tender breasts.

Missed periods.

She had put all of them down to work, nothing more than the traumas she had faced and all the pressure she was under, but in fact, she was apparently pregnant.

“And we,” Dr. Saunders continued, oblivious to or ignoring her confusion, “are going to have a look at them.” He pushed back her top, Jemma not even protesting at this, and applied the gel before…

“And there you go,” he whispered, pointing at the screen. “A happy, healthy baby. It’s too early for…”

“Is that?” Jemma asked, not even paying attention to his words, more focused on the tiny heartbeat that was echoing around the room.

“It is,” he replied, passing Jemma the wand over so that she could hold it herself. “I’ll give you a moment alone. And I’ll get you a picture, I know how much people love that,”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Jemma alone, her fingers gently brushing over the screen.

***

“And why can’t you just go to the motel then?” Fitz asked, leaning back in his chair frustrated. It had been another couple of days since he had heard about Jemma, and he hadn’t been giving anything yet. He was nervous too. They were attempting to bribe him, saying they would give him a photo from the ultrasound if he passed on information about the team.

“They’re not there, they left. Hours after you two it seems. We were planning to take you all in, to come and get you, we knew your location. We were always going to come for you. You don’t think we had people at the motel?” Hale paused, taking in Fitz’s face but he tried not to show any emotion, trying to work out why Hale had made the announcement instead of going straight for them.

“Then why?” he asked, his voice strained. He was exhausted, he hadn’t slept properly in days, not knowing where Jemma was, if she was truly pregnant, if she was hurting, it was tearing him apart, his heart bleeding with pain. “Why do the announcement, why say our location and tell the public that you’re looking for us when you know where we are?”

“I… we simply don’t want to capture you, we would have no backing. How would the public feel if we simply arrested Jemma Simmons? Do you know how much she’s done for Inhumans?” She paused, as if allowing for Fitz to interpret her thoughts, as if she were baiting him.

“Don’t…” he whispered, his voice catching. “Don’t talk about her like that. Please.”

“You think the public would stand for her being arrested? For Daisy _‘Quake’_ Johnson being arrested?” Hale shook her head. “No, no they wouldn’t. So, we had to come up with something…”

“And you think I’m going to lead you to the team?” Fitz spat back. He didn’t have the gusto that he once had. It had been days since he had last seen Jemma, since they had been separated again. After he had promised her that he would always be there for her, that he wouldn’t let them get separated again. He had failed on his vows already and he felt horrific. If telling them where the team could be meant seeing Jemma again, it was a possibility that he was considering. But if the team got caught, he wasn’t sure he would be able to forgive himself for that.

And if he gave information that was false, that was a lie, who knew what they would do to him?

Or Jemma?

He pushed that though far from the forefront of his mind, not wanting to dwell on it longer than he had to. It was a possibility that he couldn’t even begin to consider.

“If you want to see your wife… Or your child, ever again, you’ll give that information up.” Hale threw a small piece of paper down on the table between them. It was a square and seemed to gleam in the dim light of the interrogation room. It was a photograph.

It was their child.

Sure, the argument could be made that it was anyone’s child, that it was a picture stolen from the Internet, but it wasn’t. It couldn’t be.

And Fitz just knew that it was their child.

Hale’s hand was just about to grab it when the door flew open, a weary agent appearing at it, panting heavily as he tried to speak. “There’s been a… there’s been a disturbance down at the front desk, Ma’am. They need your help.”

Hale’s gaze now shot between him and Fitz, and then back again. “Stay here,” she hissed to Fitz, leaving the room, and the photo.

The metal door shut heavily behind her, the slam reverberating around the room, and Fitz let out a shaky exhale, one that he had been holding in for so long now. Tears begun to cling to his lashes as he reached for the photo, taking it in shaking hands (ignoring the biting metal of the cuffs) and he looked at it, running a finger down the edge when…

The wall blew in.

His head shot around in that direction when he saw May and Mack standing there, and behind them…

“Hunter?”

The mercenary nodded as he came around, keys in hand. “I promise, this prison break will be better than the last.”

***

She was back in her room again, and she had been in the days that followed the ultrasound. She was thankful though, there was no more Dr. Saunders. Something about him had just creeped her out, had made her feel super uneasy.

He had, however, given her a picture of her ultrasound, of her child. And it was… she still couldn’t believe that she was pregnant, that she was expecting, despite how much sense that it all made.

It helped though, it helped her to take her mind of the fact that her parents had betrayed her, that it was their fault that they were here. That it was them who had handed her, their own _daughter,_ over to Hale and her team.

She just…

She cried herself to sleep each night, and that was part of the reason why, she just couldn’t understand why her parents had done that. Why they would do that to her.

It had hurt, pain burrowing itself deep in her heart. She knew that it would take time to come to terms with what had happened, if she could ever find it in herself to forgive them. What they had done… and Fitz. He was missing. She had failed again. She had promised him they would face everything together and she had failed him.

With tears once again dripping down her face, cutting tracks across her cheeks, she curled up in on herself, her head resting on the scratchy pillow and focused her eyes on the picture.

The picture of her child.

The one that was now growing inside her, developing within her.

The one that was a perfect mixture of both her and Fitz and to think that they might never see…

No. She wouldn’t allow herself to think that.

They would survive this, they would get through this. They had survived so much in life, they had survived so much worse than this, and they _were_ going to survive this.

“Your daddy is going to work something out,” she whispered, on arm cradling her stomach, and the other, the one still attached to the bedframe, trailing down the picture. “And we’re going to get out of here, I promise you.”

She closed her eyes, taking a shaking breath in when a sudden explosion echoed around her room suddenly. She shot up in shock, her head spinning to the door, blown off its hinges and though the smoke was still clearing, still obscuring her view, she could still hear, just about, over the ringing in her ears.

“Jemma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't keep them separated, not for long. I really hope you enjoyed this one!  
> Thanks for all your support, it means so much to me!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look, a new multi-chapter fic from me. I do have hopes to get this done before 5x11. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to let me know what you think!


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